The Story

During the Great Depression, Mary Immel lived in a small desert town in northern Arizona. In the center of her town was a railroad station with a restaurant called La Posada. With a penny in hand, five-year-old Mary would walk over to the station on a hot summer afternoon, towards the gumball machine, but get lost in the cool beauty of the building’s hacienda and its magnificent green gardens. She returned, years later, to see what had become of the secret garden of her childhood.

Bill Shipley had a distinguished career as an officer in the Coast Guard. His son, Adam Shipley, was going to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Navy. When Adam told his father that he thought gays should not be in the military, his father revealed for the first time that he was gay. Bill wanted to protect his son from living his life in the closet. Not long after, Adam came out as gay, and gave up his plans to join the military and marry a woman.

Nicole Rowe was 40 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, the same disease that killed her grandmother. Before going in for double mastectomy, she played in a poker tournament, and won… She was also given a lucky wig. She’s beaten the cancer for now, and is passing along the wig to another cancer patient.

When Maria Yoon’s parents pressured her to get married, she turned to art. As she tells The Story’s Anita Woodley, Maria had 50 wedding ceremonies, with 50 different men, in 50 different states.